A man and his dog were viciously attacked while on an evening walk in Hyderabad. Widely shared CCTV visuals of the incident from Tuesday show five youngsters thrashing a man and his dog with sticks even as his family members try to interfere. Five people have been arrested and remanded in judicial custody, said police.
As the thrashing continued, the dog (a Siberian Husky) collapsed after one blow on its head. While Srinath, 42, and his dog suffered serious head injuries, his mother Rajeshwari and wife Swapna also sustained cuts and bruises.
The Madhura Nagar police said the attack was the continuation of a quarrel that took place between two families on May 8. Based on complaints from both sides, the police registered two FIRs on the same day.
According to the police, Srinath’s family has been living in Rahmath Nagar and a house for L Dhanunjaya and his wife Keerthana is under construction nearby. On May 8, while they were visiting their new house, Srinath’s dog allegedly barked and charged towards them. This resulted in an altercation between the two families.
Dhanunjaya, 35, and Keerthana complained to police that they were beaten up by Srinath’s family, whereas Srinath and Swapna complained that their dog had only gone near Dhanunjaya and his wife and that they started abusing his family in filthy language. In addition, they claimed to have been assaulted by Dhanunjaya and his associates.
“An FIR was registered on May 14. Five persons have been arrested on charges of attempted murder and remanded. It happened between two families. The accused persons are constructing a house near the dog owner’s house. They have an existing dispute and FIRs were registered on May 8. Because of the election, we were busy and we have already settled the matter by filing FIRs. They quarrelled again and the opposite persons attacked the dog and the owner. They have bleeding injuries,” an officer from the Madhura Nagar police station told indianexpress.com.
Srinath’s brother Madhu told the police that the former had taken their dog out for a walk in front of their house when five people suddenly attacked and attempted to kill him and the dog. He said it was a revenge attack over their previous dispute. He alleged that the attackers had used two iron rods and two bamboo sticks from the construction site.
Story continues below this ad
The accused have been charged under Indian Penal Code sections 147 (punishment for rioting),148 (rioting, armed with a deadly weapon) and 307 (attempt to murder) read with 149 (unlawful assembly and common object) as well as section 11(1) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
The police arrested lachireddy dhanunjaya, bilan sai kumar, Bhagantri Praveen Kumar, Lachireddy Gowri Shanker and Srreddy Rambabu.
When contacted, Madhu said Srinath and his wife Swapna had to undergo surgery and that they both sustained 10-15 stitches and had been shifted from the ICU. The 18-month-old dog is still critical and not taking any food. The MRI and CT scans of the dog show the jaw is broken and there is a clot in the brain, he added.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
